Child murder trial delayed

BEKASI: The Bekasi District Court cut short on Wednesday the trial of the suspected murderer of 11-year-old Febrina Permatasari Harahap last March.

"We decided to adjourn the trial until next week because the defendant is not accompanied by a lawyer," presiding judge Agus Riyadi told the courtroom packed with reporters and the victim's relatives.

Defendant Ahmad Yusuf, alias Oji, was returned to police detention.

Febrina's parents, Hendry Harahap and Lina Marlaeni, deplored the decision. "The court should have made sure that there was a lawyer to represent the suspect. We have waited for justice for four months now," Hendry said.

Febrina was last seen walking away with an unidentified man and went missing for three days. Her decaying body was found in the bathroom of a house rented by the defendant not far from her family home in Jati Rahayu, Bekasi. -- JP